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A lifetime ago,
car ownership was a great privilege.
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00:00:06,640 --> 00:00:10,280
We can all remember our grandparents
saying, "Only the doctor had one."
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00:00:10,320 --> 00:00:13,360
But, by the time I was born,
having your own wheels was
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00:00:13,400 --> 00:00:16,040
beginning to look like an
inalienable right,
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00:00:16,080 --> 00:00:18,120
and public transport was a hangover
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00:00:18,160 --> 00:00:21,120
from an earlier,
less enlightened time.
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00:00:21,160 --> 00:00:23,680
So now definitions must be revised
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00:00:23,720 --> 00:00:26,360
if we are to separate mere
motor vehicles
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from the true cars of the people.
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00:00:37,920 --> 00:00:41,280
Last week we discovered that
Japan's greatest people's car
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00:00:41,320 --> 00:00:43,520
was a motorcycle.
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00:00:43,560 --> 00:00:44,560
Sorry about that.
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00:00:49,800 --> 00:00:53,520
At least Britain's greatest
people's car was actually a car.
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00:00:55,040 --> 00:00:56,400
It just wasn't this one.
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00:00:57,640 --> 00:00:59,480
Look, I love Minis.
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I've had three Minis, in fact,
and I know the Mini was important,
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00:01:02,640 --> 00:01:08,600
but it's all been said
5,387,862 times.
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00:01:08,640 --> 00:01:10,520
Which is how many they made.
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00:01:10,560 --> 00:01:14,360
I could bang on for ages
about how, in 1959,
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00:01:14,400 --> 00:01:17,720
the Austin Mini's inspirational
design, blah, blah,
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a new golden era of, etc, etc.
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00:01:21,600 --> 00:01:23,280
But I bet you've
heard it all before.
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So let's keep it mini.
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I'll do you the executive summary.
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00:01:28,080 --> 00:01:31,200
Radical transverse front-engine,
front-wheel-drive, packaging,
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00:01:31,240 --> 00:01:34,200
Issigonis, Michael Caine,
Italian Job, classless, Twiggy,
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00:01:34,240 --> 00:01:36,920
string-pull door handles,
sliding windows,
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00:01:36,960 --> 00:01:39,680
Peter Sellers, Elke Sommer naked,
The Italian Job
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00:01:39,720 --> 00:01:42,440
water in the distributor cap,
bypass hose, Marc Bolan,
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also available as a van.
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00:01:47,440 --> 00:01:52,120
In any case, this week it's
social mobility that interests me.
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That's why I'd like to suggest
that Britain's greatest
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00:01:54,640 --> 00:01:56,640
people's car is not the Mini but...
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00:01:58,440 --> 00:02:00,840
..the Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow.
35
00:02:00,880 --> 00:02:04,280
And the story of its transformation
from in-your-face aristocrat
36
00:02:04,320 --> 00:02:06,560
to aspirational people's hero
37
00:02:06,600 --> 00:02:09,440
is a lot more complex
than a quickie in a Mini.
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00:02:09,480 --> 00:02:12,400
When the Silver Shadow
was launched in 1965,
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00:02:12,440 --> 00:02:15,960
it was a radical
departure for Rolls-Royce.
40
00:02:16,000 --> 00:02:19,600
Now, it may not look it now,
with its overbearing presence
41
00:02:19,640 --> 00:02:22,560
and that radiator grille
nicked from the Acropolis,
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00:02:22,600 --> 00:02:27,000
but this was actually a pretty
modern car by anybody's standards.
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00:02:27,040 --> 00:02:29,680
For a Rolls-Royce,
it was VERY modern.
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00:02:30,840 --> 00:02:33,320
Rolls-Royce,
like Kim Kardashian's booty,
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00:02:33,360 --> 00:02:35,200
stretches back a long, long way.
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00:02:36,640 --> 00:02:39,200
A temple to tradition,
luxury and class,
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00:02:39,240 --> 00:02:43,960
Rolls-Royce was the chariot of
presidents, kings and tycoons.
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00:02:44,000 --> 00:02:46,800
Owning one sent a message
to the rest of society
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00:02:46,840 --> 00:02:50,400
and that message was, "Naff off!"
50
00:02:50,440 --> 00:02:55,480
But the times, the people,
and car design, were a-changing.
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00:02:55,520 --> 00:02:58,960
Up until now, R-R had built
cars the old-fashioned way,
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00:02:59,000 --> 00:03:00,560
on a separate chassis.
53
00:03:00,600 --> 00:03:03,200
But the Silver Shadow was unitary -
54
00:03:03,240 --> 00:03:07,320
the body shell formed the structural
substance of the car so there
55
00:03:07,360 --> 00:03:10,480
were no huge girders running
underneath and this meant that,
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00:03:10,520 --> 00:03:14,360
even though this was smaller and
lower than the car it replaced,
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00:03:14,400 --> 00:03:17,120
it actually offered
superior legroom.
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00:03:20,720 --> 00:03:22,840
Pretty much everything
about the Silver Shadow
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00:03:22,880 --> 00:03:24,880
was new and radically hi tech.
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00:03:26,560 --> 00:03:29,440
There were high-pressure hydraulics
to operate the new-fangled
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00:03:29,480 --> 00:03:32,400
disc brakes and
the self-levelling suspension.
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00:03:32,440 --> 00:03:35,280
The seats, gear change,
windows, air conditioning
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00:03:35,320 --> 00:03:38,880
and even the fuel filler flap
were operated electrically.
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00:03:38,920 --> 00:03:40,920
Monocles fell out everywhere.
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00:03:42,240 --> 00:03:46,440
More importantly, Rolls-Royce had
identified a new type of customer.
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00:03:46,480 --> 00:03:49,800
It wasn't the aristocrat of old,
who just sat in the back
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00:03:49,840 --> 00:03:52,600
while his chauffeur stayed
at the front and did all the work.
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00:03:52,640 --> 00:03:57,320
No, this was a new breed
of self-made owner-driver.
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00:03:57,360 --> 00:04:02,960
Entrepreneurs, industrialists, and
then famous artists, photographers,
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00:04:03,000 --> 00:04:05,720
pop stars,
television personalities.
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00:04:05,760 --> 00:04:08,120
I can't think of anyone else
I should mention.
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00:04:09,960 --> 00:04:11,640
It was boom time.
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00:04:11,680 --> 00:04:15,320
The Shadow said you were part
of the boom like nothing else.
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00:04:18,840 --> 00:04:21,480
But a status symbol
for self-made millionaires
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00:04:21,520 --> 00:04:24,440
hardly qualifies this
as a people's car.
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00:04:24,480 --> 00:04:28,200
That came about from Rolls-Royce
making a cataclysmic error.
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00:04:28,240 --> 00:04:31,120
To try to keep up with the demand
from all those new money buyers
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00:04:31,160 --> 00:04:34,640
springing up all over the place,
they over produced.
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00:04:36,440 --> 00:04:40,080
More Silver Shadows were made
than any other Rolls.
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00:04:40,120 --> 00:04:43,000
That meant the second-hand
market became saturated
81
00:04:43,040 --> 00:04:45,200
and prices plummeted.
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00:04:45,240 --> 00:04:48,760
Eventually, over-supply meant
that second-hand Silver Shadows
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00:04:48,800 --> 00:04:51,640
fell into the hands of the sort
of people who perhaps weren't
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00:04:51,680 --> 00:04:57,440
prepared to give them the love
that a complex hand-built car needs.
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00:04:57,480 --> 00:04:59,840
Because, contrary to popular belief,
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00:04:59,880 --> 00:05:04,560
a neglected Rolls-Royce will
go wrong and it will go rusty.
87
00:05:04,600 --> 00:05:07,480
So, while the prices
of the cars came down,
88
00:05:07,520 --> 00:05:10,600
if anything, the size of
the bills went the other way.
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00:05:12,800 --> 00:05:15,560
Soon, shabby Shadows
could be seen hanging out
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00:05:15,600 --> 00:05:17,640
in some very questionable company.
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00:05:19,000 --> 00:05:22,040
By the mid 1980s,
a used Silver Shadow becomes
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00:05:22,080 --> 00:05:26,160
something of a badge of office
for disreputable professions.
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00:05:26,200 --> 00:05:31,520
Scrap metal dealing, the specialist
video industry, that kind of thing.
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00:05:31,560 --> 00:05:33,440
But move forward
a couple more decades
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00:05:33,480 --> 00:05:35,480
and something
interesting has happened.
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00:05:37,240 --> 00:05:41,200
The sick Shads have been put down
or cannibalised for spares and
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00:05:41,240 --> 00:05:44,640
the sparkly survivors are driven
by people who just appreciate
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00:05:44,680 --> 00:05:47,560
this thing for what it is -
a lovely car.
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00:05:49,720 --> 00:05:52,200
People like this misty-eyed fool.
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00:05:55,840 --> 00:06:00,000
Now it's an equal opportunities
car because everyone,
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00:06:00,040 --> 00:06:05,440
everyone, regardless of age or
gender or race or religious belief
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00:06:05,480 --> 00:06:10,160
or political persuasion or
class or income or profession
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00:06:10,200 --> 00:06:13,640
or dress sense or sexual
inclination or hairstyle,
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00:06:13,680 --> 00:06:16,240
can drive one of these.
105
00:06:16,280 --> 00:06:20,600
You simply cannot
look bad in a Shad.
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00:06:20,640 --> 00:06:24,840
It's still faintly,
almost comedically British
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00:06:24,880 --> 00:06:28,960
and yet somehow it's multicultural.
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00:06:29,000 --> 00:06:31,400
No other car does that.
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00:06:31,440 --> 00:06:33,160
When it came out in the 1960s,
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00:06:33,200 --> 00:06:39,800
the Shadow cost twice the price of
the average UK home - about £6,500.
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00:06:39,840 --> 00:06:44,200
Today, a good one is yours for a
20th of the average UK house price.
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00:06:45,440 --> 00:06:49,400
So, from '60s millionaires to
dodgy dealers to now pretty much
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00:06:49,440 --> 00:06:53,960
everyone, the Shadow has, in
its way, represented the masses.
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00:06:54,000 --> 00:06:57,840
But there's one more reason I feel
that this truly is a people's car.
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00:07:00,000 --> 00:07:01,720
Well, here's one thought.
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00:07:01,760 --> 00:07:05,200
That plethora of second-hand
Shadows meant that it soon became
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00:07:05,240 --> 00:07:09,000
very popular, obviously,
with the wedding car business.
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00:07:09,040 --> 00:07:12,280
And I can't prove this, but
I reckon that more British couples
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00:07:12,320 --> 00:07:14,880
have taken their first
car journey of married life
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00:07:14,920 --> 00:07:19,720
in the back of a Rolls-Royce
Silver Shadow than in any other car.
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00:07:19,760 --> 00:07:24,320
And that makes it deeply significant
in the lives of millions.
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00:07:29,200 --> 00:07:31,840
My very first car was one of these -
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00:07:31,880 --> 00:07:35,320
a Vauxhall Cavalier Mark 1. Ha-ha!
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00:07:35,360 --> 00:07:37,480
Except, actually, mine
wasn't quite like this
125
00:07:37,520 --> 00:07:40,480
because I think this is a 1.9 GL.
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00:07:41,880 --> 00:07:43,760
Oh, yeah, proper upholstery.
127
00:07:43,800 --> 00:07:48,280
Wow. The speedo on
this one goes up to 140.
128
00:07:48,320 --> 00:07:52,120
Mine was actually
the very basic 1.6 L model.
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00:07:52,160 --> 00:07:56,440
It didn't even have a clock. But
then, the previous owner had been
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00:07:56,480 --> 00:07:59,520
an industrial representative
in t'North of England.
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00:07:59,560 --> 00:08:01,720
Now, your car is supposed
to say something about you
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00:08:01,760 --> 00:08:05,440
and the 1.6 L said something
very definite about him.
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00:08:05,480 --> 00:08:09,720
Every single blanked-off switch
and missing feature was there,
134
00:08:09,760 --> 00:08:13,920
or rather wasn't there,
to remind him of his failure.
135
00:08:13,960 --> 00:08:15,760
And that was exactly the point.
136
00:08:20,360 --> 00:08:23,560
The company car - it was
a peculiarly British thing.
137
00:08:23,600 --> 00:08:25,000
Well, of course it was.
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00:08:25,040 --> 00:08:29,000
We had a class system in society,
we needed one on the roads as well.
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00:08:29,040 --> 00:08:31,480
What do I like about the Astra CDi?
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00:08:31,520 --> 00:08:34,400
Well, it's an "i", and "i"
means "important" these days.
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00:08:34,440 --> 00:08:37,680
There's no CD badge on the back
and that's disappointing.
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00:08:39,960 --> 00:08:45,000
It's difficult for someone following
to know you're driving a CD Astra.
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00:08:45,040 --> 00:08:48,040
Vauxhall, Ford,
British Leyland, Talbot -
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00:08:48,080 --> 00:08:50,640
they seemed to be offering
a world of magnificent choice.
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00:08:50,680 --> 00:08:53,240
You could have different engines,
different trim levels,
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00:08:53,280 --> 00:08:55,920
two headlights or four headlights.
But, in reality,
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00:08:55,960 --> 00:09:00,160
they were making the rungs
of an automotive social ladder.
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00:09:00,200 --> 00:09:05,080
It was a system more arcane than
the table manners in Downton Abbey.
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00:09:05,120 --> 00:09:06,760
So, I've enlisted two experts,
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00:09:06,800 --> 00:09:09,560
former sales fleet managers
Ian and James,
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00:09:09,600 --> 00:09:12,280
who join me on a day
that suitably represents
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00:09:12,320 --> 00:09:15,320
the glamour of life as
a '70s business traveller.
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00:09:15,360 --> 00:09:17,320
THUNDER RUMBLES
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00:09:17,360 --> 00:09:19,960
When I was a lad, in the '70s,
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00:09:20,000 --> 00:09:23,360
one boy's father
had a two-litre L
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00:09:23,400 --> 00:09:26,360
and another boy's dad
had the two-litre GL,
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00:09:26,400 --> 00:09:31,040
and we knew instinctively that
GL Dad was just more successful
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00:09:31,080 --> 00:09:34,000
with women and GL Boy would
have better football boots.
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00:09:34,040 --> 00:09:36,280
It all started off
very innocently with Ls
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00:09:36,320 --> 00:09:38,160
and then it all
got quite complicated.
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It was a bit of
a psychological war, really.
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00:09:40,480 --> 00:09:42,320
Part of it is driven by ego.
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Nobody sees what your pay cheque is
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00:09:45,280 --> 00:09:48,720
but they sure as hell see
the GL or the L or the Ghia.
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00:09:48,760 --> 00:09:51,880
And, as you drove up the motorway
and people passed you,
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00:09:51,920 --> 00:09:55,200
you'd instinctively look at
the boot to see what his was.
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00:09:55,240 --> 00:09:58,160
And if he was doing
better or worse than you.
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00:09:58,200 --> 00:10:00,760
'There's something very
playground about all this.
169
00:10:00,800 --> 00:10:03,120
'There's obviously
all the usual comparisons
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00:10:03,160 --> 00:10:04,360
'you'd look for in a car.'
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96 horsepower, not bad.
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00:10:06,720 --> 00:10:09,560
108mph, 0-60 in 13 seconds...
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00:10:09,600 --> 00:10:13,000
'But then there's
the mystical L, XL, GLS,
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00:10:13,040 --> 00:10:16,160
'the leftover scrabble letters
of aspiration that signify
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00:10:16,200 --> 00:10:19,320
'a whole baffling
world of proto-bling.'
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00:10:19,360 --> 00:10:23,480
Boot light. Fog light.
Electric windows.
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00:10:23,520 --> 00:10:25,640
'A real-life Top Trumps.'
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00:10:25,680 --> 00:10:27,040
It's got a clock.
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00:10:27,080 --> 00:10:31,320
This would be the car that typically
was driven by the junior salesman.
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00:10:31,360 --> 00:10:34,960
Wood trim dashboard fascia.
I don't believe it.
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00:10:35,000 --> 00:10:36,320
It does!
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Vinyl roof.
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00:10:37,520 --> 00:10:39,880
I don't think I've seen
one of these since
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00:10:39,920 --> 00:10:41,800
Peter Gabriel was still in Genesis.
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00:10:41,840 --> 00:10:43,360
Oh, man.
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00:10:43,400 --> 00:10:45,640
This is just glorious, this thing.
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00:10:48,080 --> 00:10:49,360
Oh.
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00:10:49,400 --> 00:10:52,880
'I might be worryingly overcome
by velour seat envy.
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00:10:52,920 --> 00:10:55,800
'But when it comes to the ranking
of electric windows above a vinyl
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00:10:55,840 --> 00:10:58,560
'roof, it's clear that this was
the sort of debate that would
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00:10:58,600 --> 00:11:03,320
'have started bloody brawls in
Happy Eaters up and down the M1.'
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00:11:03,360 --> 00:11:06,600
13.6 seconds to 60 and only 91mph.
193
00:11:06,640 --> 00:11:08,560
Do you realise your car is so slow?
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00:11:08,600 --> 00:11:11,560
It may be slow but it is
a Crusader so it has the stripes
195
00:11:11,600 --> 00:11:13,360
and the velour interior.
196
00:11:13,400 --> 00:11:15,280
Oooh!
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00:11:15,320 --> 00:11:18,720
I am going to put it in front
of the Mark 2 Cavalier 1.6 L
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00:11:18,760 --> 00:11:21,640
simply on the basis of
the wood, the wheel trims,
199
00:11:21,680 --> 00:11:24,320
the coach lining and
the crushed velour. Fair?
200
00:11:24,360 --> 00:11:26,520
Well, yes, but in terms
of sales appeal,
201
00:11:26,560 --> 00:11:28,320
the Cavalier would have had it.
202
00:11:29,840 --> 00:11:31,040
Really?
203
00:11:31,080 --> 00:11:36,520
'Decrypting Ian and James's cipher
of just what SLX or WTF means
204
00:11:36,560 --> 00:11:39,160
'might as well be a scene
from The Da Vinci Code.'
205
00:11:41,560 --> 00:11:44,040
The Cavalier was more appealing?
Oh, I would've said so.
206
00:11:44,080 --> 00:11:47,760
Even though it was a more basic
model? Yes, I would've said so.
207
00:11:47,800 --> 00:11:52,400
So this badge hierarchy,
actually, they got it wrong?
208
00:11:52,440 --> 00:11:56,840
I think there is an element of
it's the badge, it's also the time.
209
00:11:57,880 --> 00:12:00,560
'I have fallen down the rabbit hole.
210
00:12:00,600 --> 00:12:03,880
'Ian will now only answer me
in a series of riddling clues.
211
00:12:03,920 --> 00:12:05,720
'And it's doing to
the inside of my head
212
00:12:05,760 --> 00:12:07,800
'what the wind is
doing for my hair.'
213
00:12:09,800 --> 00:12:12,280
Well, chaps, that's been
absolutely fascinating
214
00:12:12,320 --> 00:12:15,600
and I am absolutely none the wiser
but thank you very much anyway.
215
00:12:17,040 --> 00:12:20,080
But while our dads lay awake
dreaming of velour seats
216
00:12:20,120 --> 00:12:24,400
and wood-trimmed dashboard fascias,
we, the teenagers of the era,
217
00:12:24,440 --> 00:12:26,560
were indulging loftier fantasies.
218
00:12:26,600 --> 00:12:27,800
Pin-ups.
219
00:12:27,840 --> 00:12:30,560
Sam Fox, obviously,
but also this kind of thing.
220
00:12:30,600 --> 00:12:33,280
This was a time when the development
of a pubescent boy
221
00:12:33,320 --> 00:12:36,080
could be accelerated
with a picture of a car.
222
00:12:36,120 --> 00:12:38,160
Now, these are a couple of all-time
favourites -
223
00:12:38,200 --> 00:12:39,760
I put them up there
when I was about 14,
224
00:12:39,800 --> 00:12:40,920
and they're still there.
225
00:12:40,960 --> 00:12:42,440
The Lamborghini Countach,
226
00:12:42,480 --> 00:12:44,520
the Porsche 911 Turbo.
227
00:12:44,560 --> 00:12:45,760
Phwoar!
228
00:12:47,000 --> 00:12:50,360
These unattainable beauties kept me
going single-handedly through
229
00:12:50,400 --> 00:12:52,760
the dark nights of those
difficult years.
230
00:12:56,840 --> 00:13:00,280
Launched in 1974 as the LP400,
231
00:13:00,320 --> 00:13:06,280
the Countach remains a nodal high
point in radical automotive styling.
232
00:13:06,320 --> 00:13:09,240
And perhaps the most
uncompromised expression
233
00:13:09,280 --> 00:13:13,160
of what came to be known in the
vernacular as wedge design.
234
00:13:13,200 --> 00:13:14,840
Oh, hang on a minute.
TYRES SCREECH
235
00:13:14,880 --> 00:13:16,200
I've forgotten something.
236
00:13:20,240 --> 00:13:22,480
'80s reality check number one -
237
00:13:22,520 --> 00:13:24,080
having to tentatively reverse
238
00:13:24,120 --> 00:13:26,840
and manoeuvre between bollards
in a Lamborghini Countach
239
00:13:26,880 --> 00:13:30,160
results in me looking neither
gnarly nor bodacious.
240
00:13:35,920 --> 00:13:39,880
Ah, well. It'll be worth it once
I fit the piece de air resistance.
241
00:13:43,320 --> 00:13:45,320
I don't suppose you've got
the wing for the back?
242
00:13:45,360 --> 00:13:46,920
That one? Yes. Yeah, yeah.
243
00:13:46,960 --> 00:13:49,400
You know it slows you down...
I'm not worried about that.
244
00:13:49,440 --> 00:13:51,560
No? No. It looks cool.
245
00:13:51,600 --> 00:13:54,320
I'm borrowing this
Countach from my mate Harry,
246
00:13:54,360 --> 00:13:56,600
who actually decided to live
the bedroom dream
247
00:13:56,640 --> 00:13:59,240
of owning an '80s pin-up car.
248
00:13:59,280 --> 00:14:01,920
The thing is, when we grew up,
we never saw these cars. No.
249
00:14:01,960 --> 00:14:04,480
You had to buy the poster -
you couldn't go on YouTube.
250
00:14:04,520 --> 00:14:07,280
You couldn't see, you know...
"Oh, look, I've seen a Countach."
251
00:14:07,320 --> 00:14:09,040
I saw one in London, I was 18, 19 -
252
00:14:09,080 --> 00:14:11,960
on the other side of the street
was a blue Countach.
253
00:14:12,000 --> 00:14:15,200
I had to take a picture, and this
picture was in my photo album -
254
00:14:15,240 --> 00:14:18,640
and then, very embarrassing,
I then cut out a picture of me
255
00:14:18,680 --> 00:14:20,360
and stuck me next to the Countach
256
00:14:20,400 --> 00:14:22,800
so I could say,
"Yes, I'm next to the Countach."
257
00:14:22,840 --> 00:14:24,280
I want to make it absolutely clear
258
00:14:24,320 --> 00:14:27,320
that these days Harry is a perfectly
normal man, he's married,
259
00:14:27,360 --> 00:14:31,080
he has a happy home life, he hasn't
suffered from having posters
260
00:14:31,120 --> 00:14:33,480
or indeed owning a Lamborghini.
261
00:14:33,520 --> 00:14:36,040
This is a sensitive
question at our age,
262
00:14:36,080 --> 00:14:40,280
but has the wing made you more
attractive to the ladies
263
00:14:40,320 --> 00:14:44,400
than when you drive your Countach
without the wing?
264
00:14:44,440 --> 00:14:47,920
I think it just attracts more blokes
than girls, actually.
265
00:14:47,960 --> 00:14:49,400
Really? Yeah.
266
00:14:49,440 --> 00:14:51,240
Desperately disappointing. Yeah.
267
00:14:52,640 --> 00:14:55,040
The wing was absolutely pointless.
268
00:14:55,080 --> 00:14:58,280
It doesn't work as a spoiler,
it doesn't provide down force.
269
00:14:58,320 --> 00:15:01,080
If anything, it accentuates
the lift at the front.
270
00:15:01,120 --> 00:15:02,360
But who cares?
271
00:15:02,400 --> 00:15:03,720
'80s reality check two -
272
00:15:03,760 --> 00:15:07,480
pin-up cars look fantastic
framed on sunset beaches.
273
00:15:07,520 --> 00:15:08,960
They look slightly less good
274
00:15:09,000 --> 00:15:12,240
being dragged through waterlogged
ditches around Oxfordshire.
275
00:15:15,680 --> 00:15:18,000
So, let's get this
thing on the road, sharpish.
276
00:15:23,320 --> 00:15:25,280
I don't care if you hate supercars,
277
00:15:25,320 --> 00:15:29,520
or you hate the idea of being
flashy, or excessive consumption -
278
00:15:29,560 --> 00:15:31,200
look at this car on your screen
279
00:15:31,240 --> 00:15:35,840
and tell me it isn't a thing of
utter wonder and beauty.
280
00:15:35,880 --> 00:15:37,040
Because it is.
281
00:15:39,480 --> 00:15:42,040
Let's drop it down a cog
and give it some beans.
282
00:15:47,880 --> 00:15:48,880
Yes!
283
00:15:56,800 --> 00:15:58,640
Well, that's quite terrifying.
284
00:16:00,640 --> 00:16:04,440
Let's take this back to subsonic,
before I Bobby Brown my trousers.
285
00:16:06,880 --> 00:16:10,040
I suspect all this spray is
actually giving my Lamborghini
286
00:16:10,080 --> 00:16:12,440
a bit of a soft-focus look.
287
00:16:12,480 --> 00:16:15,720
It's another great '80s effect,
really. It's poster art.
288
00:16:18,400 --> 00:16:21,120
Everything about the Countach was
quite a bit more exciting
289
00:16:21,160 --> 00:16:23,440
than the equivalent
bit in your dad's car.
290
00:16:23,480 --> 00:16:27,000
The engine in this one is
a 5.2 litre V12,
291
00:16:27,040 --> 00:16:31,560
developing 455 horsepower -
that is actually quite a lot.
292
00:16:32,600 --> 00:16:36,720
2 litre Granada had something
like 100 horsepower.
293
00:16:36,760 --> 00:16:37,760
Meh.
294
00:16:41,280 --> 00:16:43,520
There have been other amazing
cars since,
295
00:16:43,560 --> 00:16:47,440
but I'm not sure anything has ever
seemed quite so modern
296
00:16:47,480 --> 00:16:50,760
and quite so stunning
as the Countach.
297
00:16:50,800 --> 00:16:52,360
It still looks modern now.
298
00:16:54,120 --> 00:16:57,560
The engine was behind you,
and it had two radiators,
299
00:16:57,600 --> 00:17:01,440
fed with air by scoops
apparently from a fighter aircraft.
300
00:17:01,480 --> 00:17:04,800
The rear tyres were the fattest
ever fitted to a car.
301
00:17:04,840 --> 00:17:08,760
The doors opened upwards like
something out of Back To The Future.
302
00:17:08,800 --> 00:17:11,720
The seats sported
Miami Beach six packs,
303
00:17:11,760 --> 00:17:15,800
and it had that wing - which was
supposedly to stop it taking off.
304
00:17:15,840 --> 00:17:18,120
It was unbelievably exotic,
305
00:17:18,160 --> 00:17:21,840
and we were weak at the knees
at the thought of it.
306
00:17:21,880 --> 00:17:24,920
Now, at last, I'm in one.
307
00:17:24,960 --> 00:17:26,560
And it is...
308
00:17:26,600 --> 00:17:28,040
terrible.
309
00:17:28,080 --> 00:17:29,960
It's an old car, now.
310
00:17:30,000 --> 00:17:31,640
It's also a supercar,
311
00:17:31,680 --> 00:17:33,400
so it's not very good round town.
312
00:17:33,440 --> 00:17:35,760
But then, supercars aren't,
are they?
313
00:17:35,800 --> 00:17:38,880
It does about 15 miles to the
gallon, which is terrible,
314
00:17:38,920 --> 00:17:41,800
but I suppose Rod Stewart wasn't
really interested
315
00:17:41,840 --> 00:17:43,120
in the price of petrol.
316
00:17:44,280 --> 00:17:46,760
The cold, hard, grown-up reality
of it is,
317
00:17:46,800 --> 00:17:50,320
unless you do happen to live on the
sun-kissed shores of California,
318
00:17:50,360 --> 00:17:54,720
then owning one of these things is
utterly, hopelessly impractical.
319
00:17:58,000 --> 00:17:59,240
Sorry, Harry.
320
00:18:00,840 --> 00:18:02,920
The visibility is very poor.
321
00:18:02,960 --> 00:18:04,520
The seats are uncomfortable.
322
00:18:04,560 --> 00:18:07,000
The windows only open
a couple of inches, look,
323
00:18:07,040 --> 00:18:10,920
and the interior was designed
by a man who loaded some instruments
324
00:18:10,960 --> 00:18:14,920
and switches into a blunderbuss
and then fired it at the fascia.
325
00:18:16,560 --> 00:18:20,640
The engine is not, as it would be on
a modern Lamborghini, fuel-injected.
326
00:18:20,680 --> 00:18:23,880
It's fed by six twin-choke
carburettors,
327
00:18:23,920 --> 00:18:28,280
and that effectively means it has
a carburettor per cylinder.
328
00:18:28,320 --> 00:18:30,400
And setting that lot up to run
smoothly
329
00:18:30,440 --> 00:18:33,840
is a bit like trying
to synchronise 12 mopeds.
330
00:18:36,200 --> 00:18:38,120
Still, it could be worse.
331
00:18:39,480 --> 00:18:41,040
They've closed the road.
332
00:18:41,080 --> 00:18:43,160
I don't believe that.
333
00:18:43,200 --> 00:18:44,880
Oh, God.
334
00:18:44,920 --> 00:18:46,440
As I've already discovered,
335
00:18:46,480 --> 00:18:49,400
manoeuvring in this Countach
is a bit tight.
336
00:18:54,960 --> 00:18:56,880
I can't really see...
337
00:19:02,080 --> 00:19:04,960
The people who live here are going
to be chuffed to bits, aren't they?
338
00:19:10,080 --> 00:19:13,760
If this is your small
and tasteful gated community,
339
00:19:13,800 --> 00:19:15,000
then I'm very sorry.
340
00:19:16,480 --> 00:19:22,480
The opportunities for smacking this
on something are absolutely massive.
341
00:19:22,520 --> 00:19:24,560
So difficult to see the extremes.
342
00:19:24,600 --> 00:19:27,840
It's pretty difficult when you're
driving along in a straight line,
343
00:19:27,880 --> 00:19:29,600
never mind doing this sort of thing.
344
00:19:33,000 --> 00:19:36,760
Yes, I know, it's for barrelling
along a big, wide road,
345
00:19:36,800 --> 00:19:40,400
not exploring the back
streets of medieval England.
346
00:19:40,440 --> 00:19:43,280
But even then you could still be
going home to a maintenance bill
347
00:19:43,320 --> 00:19:47,160
bigger than MC Hammer's trousers.
348
00:19:47,200 --> 00:19:51,280
The suspension on this car is
rose-jointed, like a racing car's.
349
00:19:51,320 --> 00:19:55,680
What that means is, there aren't any
nice, soft, forgiving rubber bits
350
00:19:55,720 --> 00:19:58,520
in it, it's all just metal on metal.
351
00:19:58,560 --> 00:20:01,280
They could wear
out in as little as 800 miles,
352
00:20:01,320 --> 00:20:03,840
so if you drove from London to
Edinburgh and back,
353
00:20:03,880 --> 00:20:07,280
you could be due for a very
expensive undercarriage rebuild.
354
00:20:13,480 --> 00:20:16,000
So, it was a great poster.
355
00:20:16,040 --> 00:20:19,320
But actually driving a Countach
is like discovering that...
356
00:20:19,360 --> 00:20:21,800
Sam Fox is a drag artist.
357
00:20:23,400 --> 00:20:26,080
But that was the point about
supercars of the '80s -
358
00:20:26,120 --> 00:20:27,760
we plebs were never meant
to drive them,
359
00:20:27,800 --> 00:20:29,600
we were just supposed to
admire them.
360
00:20:30,800 --> 00:20:33,600
While we were kneeling in awe before
those graven images
361
00:20:33,640 --> 00:20:35,640
of Italian and German supermodels,
362
00:20:35,680 --> 00:20:37,920
something very interesting
was happening.
363
00:20:37,960 --> 00:20:41,400
Performance was being democratised,
364
00:20:41,440 --> 00:20:45,760
and this is where
I first saw the true light.
365
00:20:45,800 --> 00:20:48,640
The Ford Escort XR3.
366
00:20:48,680 --> 00:20:52,000
Now, it is still an Escort -
a very humdrum car -
367
00:20:52,040 --> 00:20:54,200
but this one is different.
368
00:20:54,240 --> 00:20:57,920
It has tricked-up suspension,
a bit more power -
369
00:20:57,960 --> 00:20:59,320
and those wheels.
370
00:21:00,760 --> 00:21:02,120
Yeah!
371
00:21:08,000 --> 00:21:12,600
Unlike the ethereal supercars,
the XR3 was real.
372
00:21:12,640 --> 00:21:17,000
A performance car that you could
see, touch and, crucially, possess.
373
00:21:18,320 --> 00:21:20,960
One of the things that made this car
appealing was that it
374
00:21:21,000 --> 00:21:24,720
sat in Ford showrooms alongside
all those cars
375
00:21:24,760 --> 00:21:30,160
that were secretly oppressing us -
the Cortina L and the GL and the GXL
376
00:21:30,200 --> 00:21:34,720
and the 2000E, all that hierarchical
stuff, and then amongst it, this.
377
00:21:34,760 --> 00:21:38,600
An Escort with XR3 on the back.
378
00:21:38,640 --> 00:21:41,240
XR3 - it sounds like...
379
00:21:41,280 --> 00:21:43,400
Well, it sounds like a space ship,
doesn't it?
380
00:21:45,080 --> 00:21:48,280
The XR3 wasn't
alone on Planet Hatchback.
381
00:21:48,320 --> 00:21:50,400
The early '80s saw
an invasion of small,
382
00:21:50,440 --> 00:21:53,800
souped-up cars propelled
by no-nonsense advertising.
383
00:21:53,840 --> 00:21:56,120
MUSIC: "Cars"
by Gary Numan
384
00:21:57,480 --> 00:22:00,320
The Thatcher years would end up
being remembered
385
00:22:00,360 --> 00:22:02,080
not as the era of the supercar,
386
00:22:02,120 --> 00:22:04,920
but the time of cheesy synthpop
and hot hatches.
387
00:22:06,080 --> 00:22:08,680
Look, I'm not going to
claim that a warmed-up Escort
388
00:22:08,720 --> 00:22:10,960
was the foil to the supercar.
389
00:22:11,000 --> 00:22:16,640
The Countach got to 60 in half
the time, and was 70mph faster.
390
00:22:16,680 --> 00:22:19,800
If this was a pub debate,
that would be the end of that.
391
00:22:21,280 --> 00:22:23,680
But there's another
way of looking at this.
392
00:22:23,720 --> 00:22:26,760
A hot hatch is just a car.
393
00:22:26,800 --> 00:22:29,640
Driving one is no different
from driving the regular version.
394
00:22:29,680 --> 00:22:31,400
Hot hatches are light.
395
00:22:31,440 --> 00:22:35,080
Hot hatches are modestly sized,
so they're wieldy.
396
00:22:35,120 --> 00:22:40,200
Meanwhile, '70s and '80s supercars
were full of tricks and vices.
397
00:22:41,320 --> 00:22:42,920
Not for the unwary.
398
00:22:42,960 --> 00:22:44,240
PSYCHO THEME PLAYS
399
00:22:44,280 --> 00:22:48,040
And one, above all,
had a had a lethal reputation.
400
00:22:53,600 --> 00:22:56,720
It's a 1975 Porsche 911 Turbo.
401
00:22:58,040 --> 00:22:59,960
Just like the one on my poster.
402
00:23:01,320 --> 00:23:02,600
Let's take it for a spin.
403
00:23:06,040 --> 00:23:07,360
Turbo!
404
00:23:07,400 --> 00:23:09,240
What a word!
405
00:23:09,280 --> 00:23:11,800
It wasn't a new idea in engineering,
to be honest.
406
00:23:11,840 --> 00:23:14,360
Aero engines had had turbochargers
for decades,
407
00:23:14,400 --> 00:23:17,760
but it was the great
hope of performance motoring.
408
00:23:19,240 --> 00:23:23,440
In basic terms, a turbocharger made
any given engine...
409
00:23:23,480 --> 00:23:25,760
well, bigger.
410
00:23:27,560 --> 00:23:31,000
"Turbo" means simply that
an exhaust-driven impeller
411
00:23:31,040 --> 00:23:33,520
charges the engine's
cylinders with more fuel
412
00:23:33,560 --> 00:23:37,080
and air mixture than they would get
under atmospheric pressure.
413
00:23:38,680 --> 00:23:41,200
So, you got the power.
414
00:23:43,160 --> 00:23:47,560
Remember, the vast majority of what
a car engine burns is, in fact, air.
415
00:23:47,600 --> 00:23:50,960
So, if you can put more air in,
and a little bit more fuel in -
416
00:23:51,000 --> 00:23:53,640
wahey!
417
00:23:53,680 --> 00:23:59,000
The turbo-charged 911 could
reach 60 in 5,2 seconds -
418
00:23:59,040 --> 00:24:03,720
a second and a half quicker than
the non-turbo version.
419
00:24:03,760 --> 00:24:05,480
Was there a catch?
420
00:24:05,520 --> 00:24:07,200
Oh, yes.
421
00:24:07,240 --> 00:24:09,720
Barroom philosophers will always
tell you that the
422
00:24:09,760 --> 00:24:12,240
Porsche 911 could bite back.
423
00:24:14,520 --> 00:24:17,520
Part of the problem was the layout -
the engine was right at the back,
424
00:24:17,560 --> 00:24:21,680
so the whole car behaved like a
giant pendulum in the corners.
425
00:24:22,720 --> 00:24:26,280
But in the Turbo you had the added
problem that the power
426
00:24:26,320 --> 00:24:28,840
came on a bit suddenly.
427
00:24:29,920 --> 00:24:33,720
But that wasn't all - the Turbo
suffered from a massive time lag.
428
00:24:35,120 --> 00:24:37,240
This meant you were never quite sure
429
00:24:37,280 --> 00:24:40,880
when all that power would make
itself known at the rear wheels.
430
00:24:42,280 --> 00:24:45,080
And that spelt disaster for many
a chinless yuppie
431
00:24:45,120 --> 00:24:47,920
who'd invested your whole pension
in one.
432
00:24:49,560 --> 00:24:51,120
# Amadeus. #
433
00:24:54,720 --> 00:24:56,280
There goes another stockbroker.
434
00:25:00,160 --> 00:25:02,360
The thing is,
even by modern standards,
435
00:25:02,400 --> 00:25:06,360
this is still
a very, very quick car -
436
00:25:06,400 --> 00:25:08,920
but it's terrifying.
437
00:25:08,960 --> 00:25:11,440
And that is exactly my point.
438
00:25:13,480 --> 00:25:15,560
I've always said that I've never
driven a car
439
00:25:15,600 --> 00:25:17,520
that actually played any tricks
on me -
440
00:25:17,560 --> 00:25:21,720
I always knew I was being an idiot
before the car told me I was,
441
00:25:21,760 --> 00:25:24,200
but actually I'm going to
revise that.
442
00:25:24,240 --> 00:25:27,720
I think an old 911 Turbo
DOES play tricks on you.
443
00:25:29,680 --> 00:25:32,200
It really will catch you out.
444
00:25:32,240 --> 00:25:35,600
For a nation growing ever more
wealthy and upwardly mobile,
445
00:25:35,640 --> 00:25:38,600
the 911 Turbo was peerless,
446
00:25:38,640 --> 00:25:42,400
sophisticated and very,
very desirable.
447
00:25:42,440 --> 00:25:44,600
It promised us the world.
448
00:25:44,640 --> 00:25:48,840
Well, either that or a terrifying
short cut out of it.
449
00:25:48,880 --> 00:25:53,040
To paraphrase The Rolling Stones,
you can't always get what you want,
450
00:25:53,080 --> 00:25:56,840
and if you try too hard,
you might find...
451
00:25:56,880 --> 00:25:58,800
yourself in a ditch.
452
00:25:58,840 --> 00:26:05,360
Anyway, this has got me thinking -
here is a Peugeot 205 GTI 1.9.
453
00:26:05,400 --> 00:26:07,720
It is a definitive 1980s hot
hatchback.
454
00:26:07,760 --> 00:26:10,000
It can be a bit
wayward at the limit,
455
00:26:10,040 --> 00:26:13,680
but it's front wheel drive,
so ultimately it's benign.
456
00:26:13,720 --> 00:26:17,280
Over here is our Porsche 911 Turbo -
457
00:26:17,320 --> 00:26:19,720
unusually,
and probably rather briefly,
458
00:26:19,760 --> 00:26:21,640
pointing in the right direction.
459
00:26:21,680 --> 00:26:23,640
Now, in the hands of a professional,
460
00:26:23,680 --> 00:26:27,640
the Porsche would be quicker around
a race track - of course it would.
461
00:26:27,680 --> 00:26:30,720
But what about in the hands
of mere mortals?
462
00:26:30,760 --> 00:26:33,320
The sort of frustrated
fantasists who prostrated
463
00:26:33,360 --> 00:26:37,200
themselves before the posters
of that glorious era.
464
00:26:37,240 --> 00:26:38,880
It's time to find out.
465
00:26:44,440 --> 00:26:48,200
In three, two, one, yah!
466
00:27:54,240 --> 00:27:55,400
HE LAUGHS
467
00:27:55,440 --> 00:27:59,080
So there you go. Just a little bit
of extra power to the people
468
00:27:59,120 --> 00:28:02,720
can topple the nobs from
their high-performance pedestal.
469
00:28:02,760 --> 00:28:07,200
Once again,
the cars of the people gave us hope.
470
00:28:07,240 --> 00:28:12,600
The hot hatch is still with us,
the company car almost forgotten.
471
00:28:12,640 --> 00:28:15,600
But there is a legacy.
Gone are those ranges
472
00:28:15,640 --> 00:28:18,520
that were graduated as precisely
as an engineer's ruler -
473
00:28:18,560 --> 00:28:22,360
L, GL with a clock,
GLS with a clock and a rev counter,
474
00:28:22,400 --> 00:28:24,720
but if anything, the opportunities
475
00:28:24,760 --> 00:28:29,400
for interfering with an individual
car's specification have increased.
476
00:28:31,880 --> 00:28:34,240
These are the ultimate
expressions of it -
477
00:28:34,280 --> 00:28:37,880
trendy cars that can be almost
infinitely reconfigured to suit
478
00:28:37,920 --> 00:28:39,880
the individual owner's taste.
479
00:28:39,920 --> 00:28:44,080
The Mini comes in baffling variety
and with very aspirational names
480
00:28:44,120 --> 00:28:47,960
such as the Mini Bayswater
or the Mini Hogarth Roundabout.
481
00:28:48,000 --> 00:28:51,920
I made that one up, but you can get
a Mini Clubman Bond Street.
482
00:28:51,960 --> 00:28:54,080
The new Beetle Cabriolet,
483
00:28:54,120 --> 00:28:57,000
the latest edition of
the very car that Adolf Hitler had.
484
00:28:57,040 --> 00:29:00,480
You can spend up to £35,000
on one of these,
485
00:29:00,520 --> 00:29:03,440
including £10,000 worth of options -
486
00:29:03,480 --> 00:29:07,920
amongst them,
the Beetle clothes hanger, £21.50.
487
00:29:07,960 --> 00:29:10,280
The Fiat 500 - now, apparently,
488
00:29:10,320 --> 00:29:14,040
there are half a million
permutations of all the options
489
00:29:14,080 --> 00:29:17,000
you can have on this car.
I'll not go through them all,
490
00:29:17,040 --> 00:29:19,440
but they include
a whiteboard on the glove box
491
00:29:19,480 --> 00:29:23,440
and "balls" stickers for £190.
492
00:29:23,480 --> 00:29:25,120
And we don't know what those are.
493
00:29:30,160 --> 00:29:34,480
So, in a way, this is more power
to the motoring people than ever.
494
00:29:34,520 --> 00:29:37,200
All the extras that defined
the company car of old
495
00:29:37,240 --> 00:29:39,280
are now in an options tombola.
496
00:29:40,360 --> 00:29:44,880
As the old saying goes, give a man
a fish and he will eat for a day.
497
00:29:44,920 --> 00:29:47,760
Give a man a Fiat
with 500,000 choices
498
00:29:47,800 --> 00:29:51,320
and he won't work out
the brochure in one lifetime.
499
00:29:51,360 --> 00:29:55,840
The problem for me is that
they are so unashamedly retro,
500
00:29:55,880 --> 00:29:58,120
and retro design makes me uneasy.
501
00:29:58,160 --> 00:30:01,640
It smacks of a lack of confidence,
I think, by the makers
502
00:30:01,680 --> 00:30:04,680
and to some extent
by the buyers as well.
503
00:30:04,720 --> 00:30:06,720
I mean, old cars, real old cars,
504
00:30:06,760 --> 00:30:09,960
they're great, they're a warning
from history, but new cars,
505
00:30:10,000 --> 00:30:12,840
surely new cars should be new.
506
00:30:12,880 --> 00:30:15,960
And while we're on warnings
from history, here's another -
507
00:30:16,000 --> 00:30:18,800
old being passed off as new.
508
00:30:18,840 --> 00:30:20,200
The Bond Bug.
509
00:30:21,520 --> 00:30:25,680
By 1970, things in Britain
were looking a bit grim.
510
00:30:25,720 --> 00:30:28,320
The empire had gone.
We had to accept
511
00:30:28,360 --> 00:30:31,240
that we weren't going to be
a part of the space race.
512
00:30:31,280 --> 00:30:36,480
We were beginning to retreat into
a world of sci-fi and fantasy,
513
00:30:36,520 --> 00:30:40,320
but it was OK because
we could offer you a car
514
00:30:40,360 --> 00:30:43,600
shaped like a piece of cheese
that looked from the future.
515
00:30:44,800 --> 00:30:47,560
It seems mad to think that
this monstrosity -
516
00:30:47,600 --> 00:30:50,440
it looks like Marge Simpson's
tried to iron her own head -
517
00:30:50,480 --> 00:30:55,520
was ever a car to aspire to own,
but to a kid in the '70s, it was.
518
00:30:55,560 --> 00:30:58,440
The Bond Bug was
an attempt by Reliant
519
00:30:58,480 --> 00:31:01,960
to make the three-wheeler
appealing to a younger market
520
00:31:02,000 --> 00:31:04,000
and actually, it did work
521
00:31:04,040 --> 00:31:07,720
because when I was a kid,
a bloke up the road had one of these
522
00:31:07,760 --> 00:31:10,760
and we just thought he was
the coolest dude in creation.
523
00:31:11,880 --> 00:31:15,160
We would have fallen around laughing
at anybody who had a Reliant
524
00:31:15,200 --> 00:31:17,760
but a Bond Bug -
Bond Bug was brilliant.
525
00:31:19,040 --> 00:31:22,160
Reliant genuinely believed
that the bug would...
526
00:31:22,200 --> 00:31:25,520
well, drive a wedge into
the sporty two-seater market.
527
00:31:27,720 --> 00:31:29,440
Yes, really.
528
00:31:29,480 --> 00:31:31,640
What do we like in a small car?
529
00:31:31,680 --> 00:31:34,880
We like small tyres
so there isn't too much grip,
530
00:31:34,920 --> 00:31:37,800
we like a perky engine,
and very sharp steering.
531
00:31:37,840 --> 00:31:39,040
It has all of those.
532
00:31:40,560 --> 00:31:43,400
It doesn't have fifth gear,
though, and I keep going for it.
533
00:31:44,880 --> 00:31:48,600
We also like a car to be bright
orange with some black decals on it.
534
00:31:51,200 --> 00:31:54,000
I think initially
these cars were only available
535
00:31:54,040 --> 00:31:56,840
to Tomorrow's World presenters,
people like that,
536
00:31:56,880 --> 00:32:00,280
but pretty soon they filtered down
into the community at large.
537
00:32:01,520 --> 00:32:04,240
And that's where the problems began.
538
00:32:04,280 --> 00:32:06,280
It soon became clear that the bug
539
00:32:06,320 --> 00:32:09,360
was nowhere near as modern
as it made out.
540
00:32:09,400 --> 00:32:12,280
One of the things that
characterised the 1970s,
541
00:32:12,320 --> 00:32:17,000
particularly in Britain, I think,
is that we had technical ambitions
542
00:32:17,040 --> 00:32:21,440
and aesthetic vision far ahead
of our actual engineering ability,
543
00:32:21,480 --> 00:32:25,960
so this thing, it looks like
it comes from the year 2020,
544
00:32:26,000 --> 00:32:28,680
but actually,
it's pretty old-fashioned.
545
00:32:28,720 --> 00:32:32,000
It's got a basic engine at the back,
it's got four speeds.
546
00:32:32,040 --> 00:32:34,800
It's only got three wheels,
let's be honest.
547
00:32:36,160 --> 00:32:40,360
It's not really
a very interesting car,
548
00:32:40,400 --> 00:32:42,400
not from a technical point of view.
549
00:32:44,360 --> 00:32:47,800
There are only really three
parts to the bodywork of a Bond Bug.
550
00:32:47,840 --> 00:32:51,880
There's the basic tub itself,
the hinged canopy part
551
00:32:51,920 --> 00:32:54,360
and the little opening flap
at the back - that's it.
552
00:32:54,400 --> 00:32:58,080
Everything else is
screwed or bolted in place.
553
00:32:58,120 --> 00:33:03,160
So, the bug was reversed into
the lock-up of automotive oblivion.
554
00:33:03,200 --> 00:33:07,200
Trying to pass off the past
as the future fooled no-one.
555
00:33:07,240 --> 00:33:09,760
If only they'd done it
the other way around.
556
00:33:11,000 --> 00:33:13,960
20 years later, the Japanese did.
557
00:33:14,000 --> 00:33:17,520
They took the essence of the old
and stuffed it with the new
558
00:33:17,560 --> 00:33:20,240
to create the Mazda MX5.
559
00:33:23,160 --> 00:33:28,720
What Mazda did with the MX5
was to take an old philosophy
560
00:33:28,760 --> 00:33:33,080
and then drag it, willingly, as it
turns out, into the modern world.
561
00:33:34,920 --> 00:33:37,880
The MX5 was an instant hit.
562
00:33:37,920 --> 00:33:39,920
A fun and affordable roadster
563
00:33:39,960 --> 00:33:44,000
designed purely and unashamedly
for the people's pleasure.
564
00:33:44,040 --> 00:33:48,160
What a brilliant idea.
Why did no-one think of it before?
565
00:33:52,960 --> 00:33:57,640
This is a Mark 1 MX5,
launched in 1989, and actually,
566
00:33:57,680 --> 00:34:00,040
it is a piece of retro design.
567
00:34:00,080 --> 00:34:04,080
It's very obviously a bit of a
rip-off of the original Lotus Elan.
568
00:34:04,120 --> 00:34:07,520
It even has the pop-up headlights,
but the remarkable thing is,
569
00:34:07,560 --> 00:34:09,920
on the Mazda, they pop up...
570
00:34:09,960 --> 00:34:12,280
and pop back down...
571
00:34:12,320 --> 00:34:15,960
together, whereas on the Lotus
you often ended up driving around
572
00:34:16,000 --> 00:34:19,120
sort of winking at people in
a slightly inappropriate manner.
573
00:34:19,160 --> 00:34:22,720
Most importantly,
Mazda got that famous basic formula
574
00:34:22,760 --> 00:34:24,720
absolutely right - the engine,
575
00:34:24,760 --> 00:34:28,240
the driven wheels, the skinny little
tyres, and all the rest of it.
576
00:34:29,480 --> 00:34:32,080
For decades, the British
and the Italians were
577
00:34:32,120 --> 00:34:34,320
the champions of the small roadster.
578
00:34:34,360 --> 00:34:36,920
MG, Fiat, Austin Healey,
579
00:34:36,960 --> 00:34:40,640
Triumph, Alfa Romeo and Lotus.
580
00:34:40,680 --> 00:34:45,200
These roadsters defined the spirit
of motoring, but by the late '70s,
581
00:34:45,240 --> 00:34:49,920
and not for the first time,
European standards started to slip.
582
00:34:49,960 --> 00:34:52,920
We were beginning to fall
out of love with the roadster.
583
00:34:52,960 --> 00:34:55,080
The designs were archaic.
584
00:34:55,120 --> 00:34:57,920
The build quality was indifferent.
585
00:34:57,960 --> 00:34:59,240
They had dodgy electrics
586
00:34:59,280 --> 00:35:01,680
and hoods that leaked
like government ministries.
587
00:35:01,720 --> 00:35:03,880
The hot hatch was the new thing -
588
00:35:03,920 --> 00:35:08,720
perky, more powerful versions of
four-seat, three-door family cars.
589
00:35:10,040 --> 00:35:13,200
The European roadster
suddenly became an antique.
590
00:35:13,240 --> 00:35:15,720
It was something to be driven
only on a Sunday,
591
00:35:15,760 --> 00:35:18,400
and even then only if
you knew a bloke with a van.
592
00:35:21,600 --> 00:35:25,680
And yet the Mazda, the same
basic idea, was all the rage.
593
00:35:27,520 --> 00:35:29,880
I know, because I've done it,
594
00:35:29,920 --> 00:35:33,600
that if you stepped into
an old '70s MG after this
595
00:35:33,640 --> 00:35:38,520
it would feel like a damp postcard
from an English seaside holiday.
596
00:35:38,560 --> 00:35:40,400
Terrible.
597
00:35:40,440 --> 00:35:44,360
I have to conclude that
it was the cars that were at fault,
598
00:35:44,400 --> 00:35:47,560
not the philosophy.
The philosophy is brilliant.
599
00:35:47,600 --> 00:35:49,840
The cars had just become annoying.
600
00:35:51,680 --> 00:35:53,640
Thank God we've got the Japanese.
601
00:35:55,440 --> 00:35:58,360
It's so simple -
if you keep everything small,
602
00:35:58,400 --> 00:36:01,200
everything light, you don't
need hundreds of horsepower.
603
00:36:01,240 --> 00:36:03,560
A little four-cylinder job will do.
604
00:36:03,600 --> 00:36:07,640
And because this car is short, then,
because of boring reasons to do with
605
00:36:07,680 --> 00:36:12,040
physics and something called polar
inertia, it will turn smartly.
606
00:36:15,520 --> 00:36:18,080
It all makes perfect sense.
607
00:36:20,160 --> 00:36:22,400
Why did we ever forget about it?
Hmm?
608
00:36:24,240 --> 00:36:27,600
And the roof comes off,
and that trumps everything.
609
00:36:28,840 --> 00:36:30,880
Now all I need is some sun.
610
00:36:46,080 --> 00:36:48,840
I had one of these. So did my dad.
611
00:36:48,880 --> 00:36:51,280
It's a sort of ageless car.
612
00:36:51,320 --> 00:36:54,760
Anybody can drive it - a misty-eyed
nostalgist who remembers
613
00:36:54,800 --> 00:36:58,360
the lovely days of the '60s
when it never rained, obviously,
614
00:36:58,400 --> 00:37:02,080
and modern youngsters who simply
want a simple, low-maintenance car
615
00:37:02,120 --> 00:37:03,280
to have fun in.
616
00:37:05,320 --> 00:37:08,520
It is a people's car.
It's for all the people.
617
00:37:13,960 --> 00:37:17,400
Most importantly, the MX5 worked.
618
00:37:17,440 --> 00:37:21,280
It worked perfectly
and it didn't leak.
619
00:37:21,320 --> 00:37:25,600
Over three generations of this car,
almost a million have been sold.
620
00:37:25,640 --> 00:37:28,560
Small beer by
people's car standards, I know,
621
00:37:28,600 --> 00:37:32,120
but it remains the world's
best-selling small roadster.
622
00:37:34,240 --> 00:37:37,280
We talked about cars
that gave the people hope.
623
00:37:37,320 --> 00:37:42,800
And the MX5 helped realise the hopes
of generations of roadster drivers,
624
00:37:42,840 --> 00:37:46,760
the hope that
you would reach your destination.
625
00:37:46,800 --> 00:37:49,920
So the Mazda was good,
because it worked,
626
00:37:49,960 --> 00:37:52,880
but it was successful
because of the way it looked,
627
00:37:52,920 --> 00:37:55,600
because of the lifestyle
it hinted at.
628
00:37:55,640 --> 00:37:58,240
And if we go back to the Lamborghini
we saw earlier,
629
00:37:58,280 --> 00:38:01,000
that didn't really work that well,
but look what it said about you
630
00:38:01,040 --> 00:38:04,240
with its scoops and its wing
and all this stuff here,
631
00:38:04,280 --> 00:38:05,880
it was just fantastic.
632
00:38:05,920 --> 00:38:08,120
We've been talking about
people's cars of hope,
633
00:38:08,160 --> 00:38:11,800
how choice gave us more freedom
and made us happier,
634
00:38:11,840 --> 00:38:15,120
but isn't choice really just another
form of tyranny?
635
00:38:15,160 --> 00:38:18,560
They are just... I know this is
the sort of thing boring people say,
636
00:38:18,600 --> 00:38:19,960
but they are just cars.
637
00:38:20,000 --> 00:38:23,880
They're for getting from
one place to another, from A to B.
638
00:38:23,920 --> 00:38:25,440
So wouldn't life be easier
639
00:38:25,480 --> 00:38:30,120
if we just had a car in the way that
we have a National Insurance number?
640
00:38:31,880 --> 00:38:33,720
But what would it be?
641
00:38:33,760 --> 00:38:36,600
Not this hideous boogie bus,
that's for sure,
642
00:38:36,640 --> 00:38:39,400
and what is the perfect
people's car anyway?
643
00:38:39,440 --> 00:38:44,400
Is it just the cheapest car possible
so more people could own it?
644
00:38:44,440 --> 00:38:48,440
Is it a political instrument,
a national statement?
645
00:38:48,480 --> 00:38:50,600
Does it say something about the self
646
00:38:50,640 --> 00:38:54,560
or does it work for the benefit
of the whole? It's a tricky one.
647
00:38:56,240 --> 00:39:00,080
The answer can be found somewhere
that embraces the heights of modern
648
00:39:00,120 --> 00:39:05,040
innovation while acknowledging the
weight and experience of history.
649
00:39:05,080 --> 00:39:08,800
In fact, we could have saved
ourselves a lot of time and bother
650
00:39:08,840 --> 00:39:11,680
because it's where we started
in the first place.
651
00:39:13,880 --> 00:39:16,520
So what is the people's car of the
21st century?
652
00:39:17,600 --> 00:39:19,520
Well, I think there is one.
653
00:39:19,560 --> 00:39:24,520
It's a practical, reasonably priced,
five seater. It's good to drive
654
00:39:24,560 --> 00:39:25,920
but it's not too big.
655
00:39:25,960 --> 00:39:30,400
You can have a basic, frugal model
or you can have a sporty version.
656
00:39:34,920 --> 00:39:39,840
It's classless, it's tasteful,
it's inconspicuous, it's well-made
657
00:39:39,880 --> 00:39:42,120
and it's just sensible enough.
658
00:39:42,160 --> 00:39:46,400
If you re-write the rules of the
people's car for the modern age,
659
00:39:46,440 --> 00:39:48,000
it fits perfectly.
660
00:39:52,520 --> 00:39:54,400
And even though we live now
in a world
661
00:39:54,440 --> 00:39:56,440
of overwhelming automotive
choice,
662
00:39:56,480 --> 00:40:01,000
I believe it is the only
car the world actually needs.
663
00:40:07,760 --> 00:40:11,280
It is, in case you hadn't guessed,
the Golf.
664
00:40:13,720 --> 00:40:15,640
Not a totes radical choice, I know.
665
00:40:15,680 --> 00:40:18,840
But ask yourself, "Why not
just have a Golf?"
666
00:40:18,880 --> 00:40:20,480
Why hadn't I got one, in fact?
667
00:40:21,960 --> 00:40:26,040
It's the second best selling car
range in history at around
668
00:40:26,080 --> 00:40:29,360
30 million and stretches all the way
back from the current
669
00:40:29,400 --> 00:40:33,160
seventh generation car to the
original of 1974.
670
00:40:35,160 --> 00:40:39,440
The Golf was designed to be the much
belated replacement to VW's Beatle
671
00:40:39,480 --> 00:40:43,240
and as difficult second albums go,
it was a bit of a stormer.
672
00:40:43,280 --> 00:40:45,760
Simple, attractive with Italian
design,
673
00:40:45,800 --> 00:40:48,160
good handling and an affordable
price.
674
00:40:48,200 --> 00:40:49,880
And it was a hatchback.
675
00:40:51,400 --> 00:40:53,560
It seemed like a good
idea at the time.
676
00:40:53,600 --> 00:40:55,640
As things turn out, it still is.
677
00:40:58,040 --> 00:41:01,280
Each new generation's stuck with
the same simple recipe,
678
00:41:01,320 --> 00:41:04,440
establishing
the Golf as a wheeled staple.
679
00:41:04,480 --> 00:41:08,040
Golf's are like potatoes, you
wouldn't want to do without them.
680
00:41:08,080 --> 00:41:10,120
Even though
they're not really that exciting.
681
00:41:24,440 --> 00:41:28,040
Hey! Allow to me interrupt
this lovely filmic montage
682
00:41:28,080 --> 00:41:30,640
while I talk about the GTI
version of the Golf.
683
00:41:33,840 --> 00:41:36,160
This is a Mark 2 GTI, from the
1980s.
684
00:41:36,200 --> 00:41:38,720
I know it's not the mould-breaking
original, but it's
685
00:41:38,760 --> 00:41:41,160
the one all my yuppie mates had
686
00:41:41,200 --> 00:41:44,320
when I was in my 20s and I couldn't
afford a car.
687
00:41:44,360 --> 00:41:45,720
So it's the one I resent.
688
00:41:47,520 --> 00:41:51,520
To some people the Golf GTI is
responsible for redrawing the
689
00:41:51,560 --> 00:41:55,640
battle lines of the class war,
especially in Britain.
690
00:41:55,680 --> 00:41:58,320
And therefore it is an instrument of
evil.
691
00:41:59,760 --> 00:42:01,360
Maybe.
692
00:42:01,400 --> 00:42:04,120
Mind you, if you've already produced
the Beetle, you can
693
00:42:04,160 --> 00:42:05,640
probably get away with it.
694
00:42:09,800 --> 00:42:11,800
Remember what I was saying earlier?
695
00:42:11,840 --> 00:42:16,280
How the hot hatch destroyed the old
school two-seater roadster?
696
00:42:16,320 --> 00:42:18,440
The Golf GTI was the main culprit.
697
00:42:20,520 --> 00:42:22,280
It's tremendous, though.
698
00:42:23,920 --> 00:42:26,000
Why didn't I have
one of these in the 1980s?
699
00:42:27,480 --> 00:42:30,240
And a job with a salary of pounds
attractive.
700
00:42:34,040 --> 00:42:38,080
As well as making me well jelly,
the GTI shows what a durable idea
701
00:42:38,120 --> 00:42:39,560
the Golf is.
702
00:42:39,600 --> 00:42:43,560
As it manages to be a great
car in its own right that's still
703
00:42:43,600 --> 00:42:46,320
contained under the Golf umbrella.
704
00:42:48,160 --> 00:42:49,880
Hang on a minute. Hang on. Stop.
705
00:42:49,920 --> 00:42:52,680
I think I might have got a bit
carried away with this idea.
706
00:42:52,720 --> 00:42:55,360
You see, there have been 30 million
707
00:42:55,400 --> 00:42:59,280
Golfs built over the whole seven
generation life of the thing.
708
00:42:59,320 --> 00:43:02,640
There have been something like
40 million Toyota Corollas,
709
00:43:02,680 --> 00:43:06,480
if you count every car that has the
name Corolla on it.
710
00:43:06,520 --> 00:43:11,640
But there are over
a billion cars on the planet today.
711
00:43:11,680 --> 00:43:14,400
So what's 30 or 40 million
here or there?
712
00:43:14,440 --> 00:43:17,600
The VW Beetle, the best selling
single car in history?
713
00:43:17,640 --> 00:43:23,640
There were only ever 21.5
million. So it barely registers.
714
00:43:23,680 --> 00:43:27,720
In any case, there are over seven
billion people on the planet
715
00:43:27,760 --> 00:43:30,000
so in crude statistical terms,
716
00:43:30,040 --> 00:43:33,240
there's only one car for every seven
people.
717
00:43:33,280 --> 00:43:36,560
There aren't even enough seats to go
around.
718
00:43:36,600 --> 00:43:40,400
And, of course, one and a quarter
billion of those people live in
719
00:43:40,440 --> 00:43:43,880
absolute poverty, so have probably
never even been in a car.
720
00:43:45,040 --> 00:43:46,440
It's all nonsense, in fact.
721
00:43:46,480 --> 00:43:48,760
The motor industry has
completely failed.
722
00:43:48,800 --> 00:43:52,240
There is no car of the people.
723
00:43:52,280 --> 00:43:54,520
But there's another
way of looking at this.
724
00:43:54,560 --> 00:43:56,960
The car as we know it only exists
725
00:43:57,000 --> 00:44:00,800
because of a universal
desire to possess it.
726
00:44:00,840 --> 00:44:04,080
It began life as the preserve
of the toffs, it was a proposition
727
00:44:04,120 --> 00:44:06,320
so complicated that you needed to
728
00:44:06,360 --> 00:44:09,720
employ a man just to drive it and
look after it for you.
729
00:44:09,760 --> 00:44:13,120
But now a century later,
it's a consumer durable.
730
00:44:13,160 --> 00:44:15,240
A disposable one at that.
731
00:44:15,280 --> 00:44:19,120
Yes, there are still cars that cost
a million pounds or more, but
732
00:44:19,160 --> 00:44:21,600
they come to us riding on a
groundswell
733
00:44:21,640 --> 00:44:23,520
of engineering achievement
734
00:44:23,560 --> 00:44:29,000
that is fuelled by the demand
for mobilisation for the masses.
735
00:44:29,040 --> 00:44:34,880
So, in actual fact everything from
the £1,500 Tata Nano all the way up
736
00:44:34,920 --> 00:44:39,840
to the £1.5 million Bugatti Veyron
Super Sport,
737
00:44:39,880 --> 00:44:43,880
they are all cars of the people.
738
00:44:54,320 --> 00:44:56,920
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